


A Promise

by melodycanta



Category: Uta no Prince-sama
Genre: Based off of Chapter Two of For the Eternity, Character Death, M/M, Mild Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 18:53:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17730701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melodycanta/pseuds/melodycanta
Summary: Their happiness is only temporary, but Otoya will make it last as long as he can.Based on For the Eternity's Chapter Two, but there are spoilers throughout.





	A Promise

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lana_Fair](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lana_Fair/gifts).
  * Inspired by [For the Eternity](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16076255) by [Lana_Fair](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lana_Fair/pseuds/Lana_Fair). 



> This is a surprise, so if Lana asks me to take it down, I will absolutely be taking it down (so read fast or something idk). Also, there's spoilers for all of For the Eternity, so read that first!
> 
> If you haven't heard me rave about For the Eternity, you're missing out, because it's one of my favorite fics on this site. One of my favorite things about Lana's writing is the tiny details she puts in that bring a whole new depth to the fic, and as soon as I saw that Otoya remembered Tokiya through the years, I had this idea. I probably could have gone way farther with it, because the idea is fascinating, but this is enough for now.

There was something about today that felt different, Otoya reflected. Maybe it was the air, clean and freshly dusted with the scent of blooming flowers after the harsh winter they’d just endured. He took a deep breath, feeling it fill his lungs, and exhaled slowly. It all felt alive, which was more than he could say for himself at times. He readjusted the basket, passing it to his right arm after his left had gone numb. 

This life hadn’t been good to him sometimes. He’d grown up an orphan, like he had in every other life that he remembered, struggling to live off of the streets and fighting through harsh climates until he’d come to the shrine where he’d been housed and clothed for free. That had come too late for some things—his growth had already been stunted, and he’d never quite lost the feeling like he was teetering on the edge of starvation, every meal having a tinge of desperation to it like it was the last one he’d ever have—but it wasn’t too late for others. He wasn’t dead yet, and there were things he cared about in this world now.

One being the man on the road in front of him.

Otoya wasn’t sure just how many times he’d met Tokiya or how it could be that he hadn’t aged a day since they’d met the first time, in the first life what felt like a million years ago. Every time he met Tokiya, no matter how old Otoya was, Tokiya always looked the same, his features sharpened with adulthood. It was almost funny how Tokiya’s face would start to fade in his mind, the colors running together until he was a blur in his memory, and then when Otoya saw him again, he was confronted with such beauty that it took his breath away.

They’d met only recently, or, perhaps Otoya should say they’d become reacquainted. It was always a little weird to see Tokiya in the next life, even though he spent most of it waiting to see him again. When they were together, it felt like there was a little piece of him that he’d been missing had finally locked into place. But the fuzzy memories, memories that he wasn’t even sure Tokiya shared of previous lives they’d lived together . . . they always started getting clearer then too. And whenever they got clearer, Otoya knew that trouble wasn’t far away. He and Tokiya never got much time together, so being happy the way they were . . . that was enough. It had to be enough. Fate was not something that one could run from.

“Good evening, Tokiya-san!” he said cheerfully to catch the man’s attention. 

Tokiya pivoted gracefully towards him. It was one of his favorite things about Tokiya, how no movement ever seemed rushed or out of place. He was continuously moving, and yet, it looked natural, as if Tokiya’s limbs were meant to be in action. “Good evening, Otoya.” He paused so that Otoya could catch up to him, although the basket in his arms flailed wildly. “A late errand?”

Otoya explained how he was making a delivery for the village chief, and, as always, Tokiya offered to help. It wasn’t as if he didn’t appreciate it, because he did, but Tokiya seemed to want to do things for him. It was like he treated Otoya with care, and as much as Otoya appreciated that thought, he wanted to be useful. There wasn’t much, but he wanted to do anything that he could for the village that brought him in and took care of him, and Tokiya doing it for him was hardly the same.

“I’m gonna head over to deliver this if I want to return before it gets dark,” he finally said to excuse himself from the conversation, but Tokiya standing there, a tiny, fond smile on his face, was too much to resist. He set his basket down in the grass and approached again, standing on his tiptoes. He was too short to do it himself, but Tokiya always closed the distance with a chuckle, and this time was no exception. Tokiya kissed with all of the care he showed in everything that he did. His lips were always the right pressure, mouth never too demanding, just reassuring heat and the occasional encouraging sound deep in his throat. His knees felt weak, both from the strain and from the butterflies in his stomach. 

“Will you come over tonight?” he asked when they parted. He didn’t want to seem too forward, but he didn’t want to spend it alone either.

“If you’d have me.” Of course Otoya would, there was no question about that. “First I have to talk with the Chief, but I will come after the sunset.”

“I’ll wait then.” It would give him enough time to finish his deliveries and sprawl out for a tiny nap; he didn’t want to fall asleep while Tokiya was there. They’d have so little time as it was. The way that Tokiya smiled at him made him feel warm inside, and he couldn’t resist one last kiss before he picked up his basket. His chest felt like it might burst with all of the happiness inside of him, coming out in giggles that he didn’t try to repress. If they could be happy, why not be, at least for a little longer?

He didn’t realize that would be the last time he would be happy in a very long time.

 

He woke to the sound of screams, and by the time he had opened his eyes, it was obvious it was all over.

Fire had spread silently along the roof of the shrine, but now that the walls were aflame as well, they’d finally taken note. No one had bothered to wake him up, of course, and he was stuck inside of a burning building with no way out, but he supposed that was better than some of his previous deaths. At least it would be quick. His memories had sharpened to the point that he could remember all of them, all 563 lives so far. He’d died of every disease known to man and a few that weren’t. He’d been brutally slaughtered, tortured within inches of his life and left to bleed out, frozen to death . . . the way he died wasn’t even relevant anymore. It was how he’d lived, how many times he’d gotten to see Tokiya, to feel his touch and taste him, and in this life, Otoya could count the number of times on his fingers. 

What a waste. They’d been so happy, only for it to all dissolve into disaster once again.

The fire was getting closer now, but he didn’t move. There was no use in fighting it. After all, he knew that he’d see Tokiya again, in the next life. He’d faced death 562 times. What was one more?

What had happened in the first life to subject them to this fate? He still didn’t know. He didn’t understand why this was happening to him and Tokiya over and over again, nor did he ever know what happened to Tokiya when he died. 

A scream reminded him that he did know, actually, what happened to Tokiya, although not for long. He always struggled to come to terms with how Otoya had died or was dying. When he’d been sick, Tokiya had run himself ragged trying to find a cure. When he’d been dismembered and left to die, Tokiya had begged him to hold on. And the times he hadn’t seen Tokiya’s face when he died, well, he had a guess how those had gone too. 

Otoya hoped he wasn’t going to stage a rescue. The fire was about to consume him, just centimeters away and moving fast. He’d already accepted his fate; he just hoped that Tokiya would too.   
“I love you.” He only had a breath to say those words before flames licked his feet. It felt cold, and for a moment, Otoya wondered if it wouldn’t kill him, if the curse that kept him reincarnating had somehow made him fireproof, but then the pain came, swift and agonizing. He couldn’t repress his scream, even though he knew it would hurt Tokiya more to hear it. If he were stronger, he might have thrown himself into the mass of red and orange around him, maximize the damage and minimize the time, but he couldn’t. It hurt too much. Between Tokiya’s howling and the burning, Otoya wasn’t sure he’d ever felt this much pain during a death.

Once upon a time, hundreds of lives ago, Otoya had made Tokiya promise that he’d never forget him, and now, knowing what he did, he regretted that. Tokiya would suffer, and Otoya would be reborn with a vague recollection of what happened. Still, he couldn’t regret finding Tokiya again, even knowing that this might happen. He would have done it all over again for that one moment of bliss.

_“I promise I’ll never forget,”_ he vowed with his last breath. He’d remember and he’d continue to remember all of these horrific deaths as long as he got to remember Tokiya’s smile. 

_‘I promise.’_


End file.
